


The Wind in My Sails

by Gerbilfriend



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Moby isn't much better, No Romance, Self-Insert, The Moby Dick Needs A Hug, only ships (I had to do that), the wb pirates are dorks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 09:36:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 5,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20405572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerbilfriend/pseuds/Gerbilfriend
Summary: The legend said: "Klabautermann only appear when the ship is doomed”... but the problem with legends that they gloss over the important details. How long does it take for that to happen? When does a ship count as doomed? What if you had already seen it? (could you prevent it?)Or, a person is reborn as the Kabuterman of the Moby Dick, and seeks to prevent its doom.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote it. Here it is, The Wind in My Sails!

They dozed in the warmth, water splashing against their hull. 

_ Hull?  _ Part of them thought vaguely, wondering where that had come from. 

It didn’t really matter, they let the warmth lull them back to sleep.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

“ _ You better take care of them!”  _ a voice demanded.

There had been other voices, demanding that they sink, that they surrender. 

They had ignored those voices.

They would keep their crew afloat. They would sail on adventures with them. 

That was their job. 

Then there were the voices of their fellow ships, cheerfully saying that they would take on the load for a bit, or asking that their sailors would be taken care off.

They liked it when the others were around, it was nice to talk a little. 

This one was like the second group except far louder. Brighter and fiercer.

Half way home.

“ _ You better take care of them!” _

“ _ Who?” _

A masked man, a man with a wrench, a women with a blade and, others flashed through their thoughts, ending with a man in a cowboy hat, strong but so very hurt. 

He seemed... familiar. 

“ _ I can’t take them any farther, you have to. Please”. _

They felt the need.

“ _ I will”,  _ they promised.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

It was an itching sort of pain that woke them up, they saw the small burns scattered on their hull. 

It hurt. 

They didn’t like that itchy pain. 

Moby (because that was their name) bore it anyways, the other ship had asked.

They would take care of this new person, of their new people.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Moby knows the moment their crew is added too, they always do.

This time it's elation and confusion. A mix of hope and shock and  _ thiscan’tbereal  _ and  _ Iwanttobehome.  _

_ Let me be home. _

They join the celebration, the joy of their crew, their hope. 

The crew welcoming Ace on board.

The pieces came together.

Moby’s world fell apart.

Just. Like. That.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

They were the Moby Dick. Not just a ship named Moby Dick.

The Moby Dick was doomed. 

Their crew was doomed.

It was that thought which woke them.

  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

They checked on Teach, he had once broken one of their walls in a fight for cherry pie and had spent the night trying to fix it, the shipwrights had taken pity on him in the morning.

He was a member of their crew. 

He was a member of the family.

He was going to doom them. 

They needed to do something. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

It was hard, trying to reach out. They were the ship, the keel their backbone and the sails their legs. 

They weren’t quite sure what their ears were, maybe the navigation room? 

_ No that was more like their eyes.  _

Even so they focused. The knowledge that this ship was doomed, that their crew was doomed galvanizing them.

Moby would not let their crew be doomed.

It was cold outside of themselves, projecting themselves. 

If a ship could get a headache they were sure they would have gotten one.

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Someone was in his kitchen. Thatch knew it with a chef’s instinct, someone who was not supposed to be there was in his kitchen.

Quietly he eased open the door, part of him proud of how the hinges did not squeak, and peaked inside. 

Wait! There was a flash in the corner of his eye.

For a second he could of sworn that he saw a glowing body at the counter. 

Was he seeing things?

He slipped inside the room, scanning it with his haki.

Nothing. Everything was in its place.

Except… someone had done the dishes? 

What.

The pile of dishes that had been left in the sink from the birthday party had been carefully washed, stacked and dried.

When Thatch looked at the sink he could see the last of the water draining away.

_ “Washing dishes counts as helping to fix the ship, right?”.  _

He had had way too much to drink if he was hearing things too. 

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

Moby had come to love and fear storms, love them for their freedom, their thrill. Love them for the feeling of dancing from one wave to the next.

Hate them for the fear, the pain. Lighting stuck and burned their wood, that was bad. What was worse was the loss. 

Whenever the storm hit Moby couldn’t help but fear for their crew.

Some of them couldn't swim and even for the ones that could the waves could be too much. 

Moby was born for this sea, was born to dance through the waves like the roller coaster rides they barely remembered.

Their crew wasn’t.

So they watched. 

While the sea tossed them they watched the sailors, watched their crew. 

Moby would carry them through. 

They were the ship after all.

  
  



	10. Chapter 10

It was a worse storm than they had seen in months. Even for the New World it was bad. Jiru rushed around, trying to make sure his division was okay.

_ No!  _

He saw the rope snap. Saw the wave was aboard trapping Keith. 

Pulling him over board. 

He was a devil fruit eater.

Jiru moved, pulling Keith back out of the wave. 

He slipped. 

The wave pulled him over the rail, buffeting the air out of him. He tried to struggle but the currents yanked him down.

He swam.

Or tried to.

Maybe it was up?

He couldn’t see- his vision was blurring.

_ Sorry everyone.  _

He woke up on the deck to Thatch’s (loud) sobbing. 

He tried to talk, all that came up was water. It felt like he had gone one to one with Pops. Jiru moaned.

His ears were full of water.

Somebody said something. He tried to focus.

“Jiru”, he couldn’t quite make out who was holding him up, he rolled over, feeling the sea water sting as he coughed it up.

The sun burned bright up ahead, apparently the weather had changed again.  _ Just a little too late. _

Something grey shimmered in the corner of his vision. 

He couldn’t focus on it.

Later (once the nurses had thoughtly checked him over to ensure the water was out of his lungs even though he knew he was okay and didn’t need it and he needed to make sure everything was okay with his brothers and make sure that everyone in his division had managed the storm and check repairs and do budgets and...) he stared at the sea which had almost pulled him under.

Marco had said a wave had washed him up, tossing him back on board.

Why did he remember a figure in a rain jacket?

“ _ I’m glad your okay”. _

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

The more they focused, the more solid Moby was able to get.

It was nice to be able to pick things up and move. Being a ghost had sucked, even if it was fun that they could go through walls.

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Blenheim squinted under the table, unsure as to why he had to do this when there was a whole division of perfectly capable sailors.

_ The Whitebeard Pirates, ladies and gentlemen, scourge of the sea. _

He winced as he his head hit the table.

_ Why did I agree to look for Cruz’s dice in the first place. _

Right. Because it was important to his brother. 

He was about to crouch when he looked at the table.

The dice were there.

_ They better have not been here all along!  _

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Petting a giant mace was weird. It was also kind of nice to not being the only sentient object on board.

Moby sighed as the mace dashed off, somehow moving despite lacking legs.

Petting xem had been nice.

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

Rakuyo’s mace was fond of wandering. Xe always had been. This time when xe came back xe wrapped xir’s chain around his arm and pulled.

When it stopped Rakuyo just stood.

There was nothing there.

  
  



	15. Chapter 15

They watched in silence as the sixteenth division put on a play. There was so much more to ships than Moby had realized before they had become on.

It was kind of amazing.

Also the sixteenth division was full of amazing actors and it was incredible. Hidden in the back as they were, Moby made sure to give a standing ovation before getting up.

There had to be something they could do to help with the set.

It would be good practice being solid.

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

Izo stared at prop lockup, at the neatly ordered costumes. As proud as he was of the last play his division had put on he had not been looking forward to cleaning up after it.

Now he didn’t have too.

There was a note on the table. 

_ The show was amazing.  _

He couldn’t recognize the handwriting. 

  
  



	17. Chapter 17

Moby materialized on the deck, careful to make sure the night watch didn’t see them. 

The night was calm and from what they had heard it was going to stay that way.

Which meant it was the perfect time for their plan. 

Moby wished Whitebeard would stop drinking, everyone was so worried. 

It made them itch.

Thankfully they had a plan, Moby knew where the sake was kept after all. 

They looked at the jugs, debating what to do. Tossing it over would be a waste of funds (and they didn’t want that, they knew enough about the cost of running the ship).

Still…

They knew the rooms, the ones that nobody ever looked in. The really quiet rooms. 

They would have to be quick about it.

Hefting the first jug (and savoring their strength) Moby started on their task.

  
  



	18. Chapter 18

Ace shivered on the deck, the water making him more sluggish than he normally was after a bout of narcolepsy.

This one had come on to fast for him to get off the railing. 

So much for his midnight fishing.

Still, he had manners and there was someone he needed to thank for the save.

“So who was the one who made the call”, this part of the Moby Dick wasn’t all that well traveled. 

There was no clear answer.

There was also no answer too why a jar of Pops sake was in the middle of a hallway, almost to big for the passage.

  
  



	19. Chapter 19

One of Moby’s favorite things to do was just to watch the crew. There was always something going on.

This time they laughed from the shadows as Keith yelled at one of the older members, Nikolas.

He had bet that Keith couldn’t climb up the rigging in only one boot.

When Keith had and come back down Nikolas had explained that he meant only one boot, as in no other clothes.

As in naked.

Thus the swearing.

The chaos was delightful.

_ And I could lose this if I’m not careful.  _

  
  



	20. Chapter 20

Namur shivered as he looked outside. 

There was snow everywhere.

Snow. It wasn’t that he didn’t like snow. It was just that he got cold so easily.

He hated being cold.

“You wanted me?”. Namur looked, there was Ace, fire dancing along his skin. A true human furnace.

It was nice. 

But who had known to get a heater?

  
  



	21. Chapter 21

Snow ball fights were great fun to watch. Moby had to contain their laughter as they watched Thatch dump a load on snow down Milan’s back.

Elsewhere Curiel had somehow loaded his guns with snow.

It was good that Ace had found his way to Namur, Moby had been hoping that getting crew mate to crew mate to pass on the message would work. He made a good human furnace. 

The fighting got more intense, with Balmeco pulling snowball after snowball from his pockets. 

_ How long had he been holding them? _

Of course, the fun ended when Whitebeard showered them all in snow.

_ They really are a family.  _

  
  



	22. Chapter 22

Vista was actually a magician.

It was super cool. Not only did he lead the division which specialized in swordsmanship, he also lead the division that specialize in magic. 

He was also kind of vain. 

The flowers that he was so named for actually came from a chemical compound he made and carefully loaded into the tops of his swords.

It was actually really cool!

Quietly Moby put the bottle back down. 

  
  



	23. Chapter 23

There was something white in the corner of Vista’s eye as he entered his room.

Nothing. 

Then he realized his bottle was in the wrong place.

_ “I’m sorry”,  _ Vista heard, through it might have been the wind from his open widow.

He was telling Haruta.

  
  



	24. Chapter 24

Watching Haruta take it personally that he didn’t know who called out was funny. 

Even if it made Moby feel bad as they watched him chart out when Moby had been spotted and where they had been seen.

They didn’t want to hurt Haruta. 

It was just that they were a Kalbuterman. 

They weren’t supposed to be seen.

  
  



	25. Chapter 25

Kingdew watched over the new recruits, ducking in to correct Spiro’s form. 

It was good to get new siblings but it did mean more work for him.

It was worth it though

He was not going to lose siblings to shoddy hand to hand combat, even if he had to keep them going all night. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a white form practicing the same thing.

_ Just a trick of the light. _

  
  



	26. Chapter 26

The area around the cannon’s touch hole had been corroded. It was one of the oldest cannons on the ship and it wasn’t good. 

If it was shot then it would blow off and hurt the people firing it.

Hurt Moby’s crew.

_ Curiel will figure it out.  _ Moby comforted themselves. Even so, they didn’t want to take a risk.

  
So they borrowed some of the shipwrights pain and splashed it which bright red, a warning.  _ _


	27. Chapter 27

Curiel inspected the paint covered cannon, his annoyance fading as he realized the touch hole was bad. 

_If that had been shot_, images of his siblings bones shattered and burned by their own weapon played in his head.

He promised that he would spend the rest of the day checking the other cannons. Now he just needed to know why the sibling had marked and run.

There were no results.

Haruta added it to his list.

  



	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moby, Moby, Moby *shakes head*

Moby laughed at the drinking going on on the deck. Quietly, while nobody was looking, they replaced Whitebeard’s sake with water.

His face when he took the first sip was priceless.

His annoyance less so.

But really, Whitebeard deserved it. He shouldn’t be worrying the crew so much.

  
  



	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to figure out a posting schedule for this XD

It was hard not to be jealous when they saw their crew head to shore. 

Moby was a ship. They could be anywhere on the ship whenever they wanted.

But they could not leave.

Lately, they had been forgetting what is was like to not be the rocking of the deck.

  
  



	30. Chapter 30

_ Most people,  _ Balmeco thought, vaguely annoyed.  _ Have no idea how hard it is to have pockets.  _

Yes it was useful to be able to store so much.

But it meant his siblings kept giving him things when there were on islands assuming that it was no bother.

He loved how much they trusted him with their treasures.

It still meant he had to sort it later. 

_ That was it.  _ He glared at the pile of junk in front of him.

He would deal with it after dinner.

When he got back it was already sorted into piles. 

Haruta added it to their list of odd occurrences. It was getting longer and longer. 

  
  



	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now things are getting interesting!

Fossa had realized it was a Klabautermann, he did didn’t need his Water Seven born second Hans pointing it out to know.

He knew ships tales well enough. 

_ Still,  _ it had been one thing to think that their klabautermann, that the Moby Dick, was active.

It was another to see them hammering away after a cannonball had blown a hole in her side.

He was still mad at that. 

At least he had made the opposing crew pay. 

  
  



	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moby continues to troll

They stopped humming as Fossa approached.

“You’re the Moby Dick”. 

It was the shipwright that figured it out, of course it was.

Moby looked up from the patch of wall they had been fixing. “I am”.

They couldn’t help it.

They disappeared, part of them amused at how the sailor’s eyes widened in shock.

_ Totally worth it. _

  
  



	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometime we make choices...

They took pity on him the next night, reappearing from the wall as he walked by.

“How long do we have”, they turned their head at Fossa’s quiet question. “I know a Kalbuterman only appears if the ship is doomed, how long do we have?”. The desperation in his voice was obvious.

They didn’t mean to make him worry.

They considered, “awhile. Nothing in me is broken yet, I wouldn't worry if I were you”.

“Yet you appeared”.

“Call me a worry-wart”, they offered, using one of their favorite terms from before they became a ship.

“If it’s so long in the future than how do you know it will happen?”

“It might not, I’m hoping I can change things, nudge things somehow. Don’t tell anyone else, it’s not a sure thing”

“Anything we can do to help”. The low growl in his voice would have been scary, but Moby would never be afraid of their crew.

Moby was tempted, but they had watched Teach, he loved them too, as much as some of the other sailors. They couldn’t. He was still crew, Moby couldn’t say their name. “Not really”

“How will we know if it’s over?”.

“I think I’ll disappear again”. It was hard to keep the sadness out of their voice, for all the fear they had they liked watching people, they liked being awake. 

“We won’t forget you”

“Thanks”.

  
  



	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting. This is mainly written but people seemed to like it and I got scared to post XD

Fossa knowing about them didn’t change anything really. 

They watched, curious. But Haruta still didn’t know. Still wrote lists and chased down leads.

They still ghosted around, out of sight as much as they could be.

The wall was still there.

But every now and then, late at night they would talk. 

It was nice to speak to somebody.

  
  



	35. Chapter 35

Atmos felt himself grin wildly as he danced with the newest crew to challenge them. 

He had been itching for a fight, it was nice to get one.

Still, through the whole battle he kept seeing flashes of a white rain coat in the corner of his eye. Feeling something familiar on the edge of his senses.

He wasn’t the only one. When he talked to the rest of his division they all had stories.

Sometimes the figure had even saved their life.

He hadn’t believed Haruta before but something was definitely up.

  
  



	36. Chapter 36

It was weird. Moby examined the where the cuts had been in their raincoat. 

They hadn’t been able to step back when they had seen the fight start. Hadn’t been able to leave the crew on its own to fight.

Just done their best to stay out of line of sight. The dusty paremica type that one of the attackers had used was actually quite helpful in that regard.

But they had still been stabbed and shot. And they weren’t healing. 

It didn’t make sense until they saw the cracks in the ship, in their body.

Then it did.

Poor Fossa. They kept making more work for the guy.

  
  



	37. Chapter 37

Jozu hefted the lumber onto his shoulder as he watched his division. Normally it would have been Fossa doing this.

But the odd cracks on the Moby had led to him asking someone else to get lumber. 

Jozu worried. Things were strange on the Moby Dick and he had no explantation.

_ I’m sorry.  _ A voice whispered in his ear as he helped on night watch.

When he turned there was no one there.

That was it. He was telling Haruta.

  
  



	38. Chapter 38

It was scary to know that if something happened to this body, their projection, then it happened to the ship as well. 

It just meant that they had to be more careful about what they did.

_ I will protect you all.  _ Moby promised as they watched the rips seal up, proof of their crews carpentry.

Proof of their crews care.

_ I won’t let this fall apart. _

And in the meantime they wanted to laugh as they watched Thatch plan his next prank on Jozu and Fossa, not knowing that Fossa had already been warned by Moby.

They felt slightly guilty about that. But they had been making all kinds of extra work and worrying Fossa and felt like they needed to do something to pay that back. Prank pre warning was just what they could think of in this case.

They refused to feel bad about playing favorites because Fossa was planning a counter prank along with all the other shipwrights and Moby was so ready for it to happen.

It was going to be amazing.

  
  



	39. Chapter 39

Haruta knew his tapping was annoying Gilberto. He felt bad too, he didn’t want to aggravate his siblings more than they were already aggravating each other with a prank war. 

Part of him wished he could be impressed by just how well Fossa and Jozu were doing this time, both in foiling pranks and pulling their own.

Part of him wanted to get involved himself, and drag his division with him. 

He couldn’t through, right now he couldn’t focus.

It was just driving him mad. The call for help, Pops sake, Izo’s cabinet, dishes and more he probably didn’t know about.

He was the intelligence officer on this ship. It was his job to make sure nothing took them by surprise.

But he couldn’t even solve this problem on his own ship.

  
  



	40. Chapter 40

Teach was still normal. Moby watched him joke with his siblings after winning a cherry pie contest.

It had actually been really impressive just home many pies he had been put away.

_ Should I tell anyone? _

He started to lead a drunken chorus line around this ship, reveling in merriment. 

_ Could I tell anyone? _

The problem was, Moby thought they knew the answer.

  
  



	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerbilfriend gets scared of how much people seem to like this, please forgive the anxious author.

“I don’t understand”, Fossa said quietly one night. “Why won’t you let me help”.

Moby curled into themselves. They wanted to, they wanted to tell Fossa so bad.

But all they had was scattered memories of a manga. They didn’t want to accuse one of their sailors on that. “It’s just a feeling. I am keeping an eye on it”.

“And you will tell me if there’s something I can do?”.

“I will”.

Fossa huffed, leaning back. “The things I do for my ship. You’ve been driving Haruta nuts you know”.

“Sorry”. 

“Can I introduce him to you?”.

Moby froze. On one hand they didn’t want to bring anyone else into this. On the other it wasn’t like all the shipwrights didn’t already know, even if Fossa was the only one they talked to.

And they could feel Haruta’s stress. 

“Okay”.

They could do that at least.

  
  



	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope this lives up to expectations!

Haruta looked up as Fossa entered, a strange expression on his face.

“What’s new?” he asked as he went over his notes, trying to find a connection. 

“I need to show you something”.

His brother’s tone was tense. Worried. 

This was business.“What’s wrong?”.

“It's complicated”.

“What do you mean”.

Fossa sighed, pinching his nose like he always did when he was stressed. “Just follow me”. 

The deeper into the bowls of the Moby they got the more Haruta worried. Something was up.

“Moby?”. Fossa called. 

Haruta was about to ask when a white shadow slipped out of the wall, the flag in the center of it's rain coat.

“Hi”. It sounded awkward, bashful. 

The pieces were coming together.

“Are you behind all the occurrences”. Haruta demanded, “everything”. 

Going through walls made sense, that was how it hid.

_ Was it a devil’s fruit? _

Then something else hit Haruta.

It's name was Moby.

Fossa, the shipwright, had introduced them. He called them Moby.

Moby Dick.

“You’re our klabautermann?!”.

  
  



	43. Chapter 43

Now two people knew their secret. It was odd. 

It was good that Haruta was less stressed through, even if they now had two people trying to figure out why they were there.

So maybe Haruta wasn’t actually less stressed, he was just differently stress.

_ That doesn;t actually make me feel any better.  _

Moby wanted to bury their face in their hands, not that it would actually help anything. 

Ace had been second division commander for two months. 

Still nothing. They were still okay.

Things would be okay.

They had to be.

  
  



	44. Chapter 44

“So that's Moby”, Haruta said, Fossa could hear the shock in his brother’s voice.

“Yeah, that's our ship”.

“Does Pops know?”.

Fossa shifted, he knew what answer Haruta wanted to hear- they all hated to hide things from their father.

“No, Moby asked me not to tell anyone”.

“You told me”.

“Moby said I could. Please”, Fossa adds, because he is a son and a shipwright and doesn’t want to have to choose. 

“Why did Moby said you could tell me?”.

That Fossa can say, “I think they were worried about your stress levels”.

“Really”.

“Really”. 

“They’re a good ship”.

“The best”.

They keep walking, making their way out of the lower decks.

“So what happens now?”, Haruta asked.

“Klabautermann only appear when a ship is in grave danger”, doomed actually, but Fossa won’t tell Haruta that, not when Moby is so convinced they can save them, “so you help me keep and ear out for why”.

“Does Moby know?”.

“They won’t tell us”.

Haruta scoffed, “sounds familiar”.

“Point”.

  
  



	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to the end (hear me pacing from nervousness XD)

It was a good thing Haruta was less tense. Marco wasn’t too worried about the ‘strange things’. It was just a sibling pulling a prank.

However, now that Haruta was less tense it seemed like he was compensating by making reports on everything.

Reports that Marco then had to read. 

He signed off on the mission to send the Fourth Division to pick up more fruit, authorizing Thatch to lead it.

It had been a while since Thatch was on land and his brother had started to complain.

After that it was more rosters and shifts.

His head hurt.

When he looked up again there was a cup of tea.

It was still steaming.

Okay. Haruta was right.

That was unevering. 

  
  



	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ending the year with one final update to all my Drabble fics, enjoy!

Thatch was gone on a mission.  _ It's fine,  _ Moby promised themselves,  _ it's fine. _

They had to have more time. They had too.

Moby watched Teach as he spared with Ace, both of them laughing.

Banaro Island flashed in Moby’s mind, darkness and fire and death.

_ I have to have more time. _

The call of one the Pequod had Moby watching their crew’s return, trying to call out a thanks while being distracted.

_ I have to have more time. _

Somehow, it felt like the end had already begun. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it seemed fitting to end the year with the beginning :D


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long, I hope you all enjoy!

Thatch was back and he had a devil fruit in his hands.

Moby had not felt like they had a stomach in months. They felt it now.

It felt like they couldn’t breathe and they watched Thatch. He wasn’t on night watch. He was still sitting outside, tossing the fruit in his hands.

Fossa wanted to talk to them.

So did Haruta. 

They wanted to pry when it was already happening and they didn’t want it to be true because Teach was family.

_ Please don’t come. _

Teach was coming. 

Thatch didn’t see him.

_ Maybe he just wants to talk? _

There was the glint of a knife.

A lunge.

_ No.  _

Moby saw red. 

They moved.

  
  



	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally got the courage to update this thing :D

A sharp pain hit him like a thunderbolt as Thatch crashed down, sticky heat spreading out.It didn’t matter. His family was in danger, he tried to twist, to see, reaching out with his haki to feel the attacker.

The impact with the deck came too soon, sending shocks up his arms as they bent under his weight, barely softening his fall.

His head was ringing, jaring his focus as he tried to force his body to move. He needed to see.

His arms felt like gelatin as his pushed himself onto his back

_ Teach.  _ He was fighting someone. 

Teach was fighting with a knife in his hands and-

Normally Thatch avoided shouting for help. This was not one of those times. 

Breathing hurt and left him gasping for breath but something was wrong and people needed to know.

His back didn’t hurt so much anymore. It just felt numb. Warm.

Everything was so heavy. He needed to focus-

They clashed again. Someone in white was standing over him and Teach was lunging and it was all wrong and Thatch couldn’t breathe or do anything and-

Thatch didn’t know. He didn’t know who was friend or foe and he could feel the sticky warmth and the burning pain and he didn’t know-

The darkness rushed up to meet him.

  
  



	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to be better about updating, I hope this chapter is good! (also, wow, this fic is almost a year old now)

Fossa had been talking to Namur about checking Moby over for cracks under the waterline when he heard the scream.

_ Thatch. _

Fossa started running, Namur beside him.

It was one of the moments when Fossa wished his Observation was better, wished he knew what was going on but all he could do was run, pinpointing the weakening feeling that was Thatch and the tracers that he couldn’t get a read on and-

_ Thatch. Moby. _

Fossa froze for a moment, instantly he felt Namur at his back but it didn’t matter because Moby was on the deck, white jacket stained red and Thatch was down and-

“Get the medics, Thatch is down”, he shouted, heart pounding.

Fossa was, tearing his shirt off, moving to kneel next to Moby, to put his hands next to Moby and keep that blood in for just a little longer but it only took so much focus to keep the pressure and he could see Teach’s corpse but there was a knife inches from Teaches hand like it had been dropped and- 

Fossa tried to keep the blood in his brother’s body and knew what Moby had been worried about.

He knew with aching clarity why Moby had been unable to speak.  _ How long-  _

But he couldn’t think about it because time was moving and the nurses were coming and they needed to get Thatch loaded up and and-

Thatch was gone on the gurney and Fossa was there with a pool of cooling blood, a traitor’s corpse and Moby.

Moby who had pulled back as the nurses had come, almost faded out of view and any other time Fossa would be fascinated by how easy it was for Moby to shift from their perceptions but not right now, not when the world wasn’t quite making sense.

Fossa could see Moby through, small in their blood stained coat as they picked up the knife, still wet with blood.


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know a quick update is basically a surprise to everyone that has dealt with me and my update pace for this fic but today marks a year for this fic (and naturally I managed to update a day before without realizing but wanted to do a birthday update for once) and I just wanted to say wow.
> 
> Like, I started this fic thinking that no one would like it because the idea of being reborn as a ship was just sorta a random thought I had and started scribbling for but I asked on my other fic and people seemed interested so I posted it.
> 
> And just, like, people like it. You guys actually like something I wrote. Thats amazing and I love you all and reading your comments (trust me, I know Moby needs a hug, they really really do) so thanks. Its been a year and I am in a very different place from where I was when I started this fic and its been a time and just thanks.
> 
> Thanks for bearing with me and my authors note full of me being a mess.

The knife was cold in their hands. Cold and simple. It was a knife for cutting, maybe in another world Moby would have used it to cook.

In this one it had been used to stab someone. 

To stab Thatch.

It was just a knife. 

It was just a knife but the deck was splattered with blood because of the knife and because of Moby and there was blood that was running into cracks in the wood and pooling and-

They could feel the blood on their hands.

It was sticky, slowly drying.

It was Teach’s blood.

It was Thatch’s blood.

Moby couldn’t tell the difference.

Moby had wanted Teach to be good. They wanted Teach to be good so badly it ached and felt like it was tearing them apart as they tried to keep Thatch together. 

Thatch was bleeding. 

Teach had bled.

Fossa was, Fossa had come because Thatch had screamed and that meant Fossa was there as well and-

Teach was dead.

Thatch was alive. 

Thatch was still alive.

Thatch was still alive and Teach was dead. That had to mean something. Moby knew it had to mean something.

But there had been so much blood and Moby knew how much blood was bad and that had been their fault for not speaking up because they had wanted Teach to be good but they hadn’t thought he could be so they had been split and-

Thatch was alive.

Thatch was alive and the nurses had carried him off while Moby had shrunk back because being seen was bad and Thatch needed to be the focus so Moby had gone away.

Thatch was alive.

But.

But.

No one said for how long.

_ It's your fault,  _ a voice whispered, their own voice, the voice that had been telling them not to trust, to act already, sickly sweet as it pulled them down.

_ Your fault. _

Suddenly they needed to see it. See proof of what they did.

Proof of what happened.

Of what they did.

Teach was dead.

Thatch was alive.

The deck was bloody.

The knife was out of their hand.

Then they were falling.


End file.
